Memento
by Blu Rose
Summary: [1000 Paper Birds sequal, One shot SasuSaku, NaruSaku]People like to keep things to remember fond memories. Uchiha Sasuke is no different. Except all his memories aren't happy ones.


**Blu: Hello there, fellow readers! Yes, I know, I should be updating Naruto X, but this has been in the back of my head, nagging ALL THE TIME! It's somewhat of a sequel to "1000 Paper Birds". The only difference is that it shows things in Sasuke's life instead of Sakura's--though in a totally different way. Also, one of the main characters of Naruto X will be making an appearance! **

**I think I got Sasuke OOC though…**

**I hope you enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I DON'T own Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, or anybody from the Naruto series. I do, however, own Hanzo, any OCs mentioned, and this story._

**X-X-X**

**Memento**

He had to be _veeery quiet_. Otherwise, his grandfather would have his head for snooping through his personal belongings. Or at least _one_ of his much needed limbs or a vital organ. Same difference.

As quietly as he could, the young man sneaked past the door of his grandfather's room while carrying a large cardboard box. He might not have needed to be so sneaky though, since the old man's naps usually lasted for a couple of hours these days. Still...just in case...

A few moments later, the boy was sitting in his room, the box now open. A few scrolls that laid about showed his name in dark red kanji: Uchiha Hanzo. The fifteen-year old chunin blew black bangs out of his face and removed his short ponytail off of his shoulder.

"Well, let's get this started..."

He started to scrounge through the box until he came upon something interesting. "What's this...?" Hanzo stared at the item for a few seconds.

It was a picture--a faded picture, with slight chars around the side. It seemed as though it had been through a fire. But it wasn't the burn marks on the picture that caught the boy's eye. It was the people in it. A stern-looking man, a smiling woman, one boy that sort of looked like him with freaky lines going to the bridge of his nose, and a little boy that reminded Hanzo of one of his younger cousins.

"Wait...don't tell me this is..."

**X-X-X**

_A young Uchiha Sasuke of 9 years old dumped everything in a pile. He was currently standing inside of an old house--that had been occupied a year ago--putting several objects into pile. Things that reminded him of Itachi, of his parents, of any nice time they had together when they were still alive and his brother was still here, and everything that had belonged to his brother-- no, that **bastard**, Itachi._

_Sasuke pulled out a box of matches. He might've been too young to use them, but he really couldn't care. All he wanted was every trace of Itachi **gone**. And the best way to start was to burn his belongings. With the strike and toss of a match, the pile began to burn. Glorious flames began to rise, reflecting off of the sole Uchiha's onyx-colored orbs._

_It was then that young Sasuke noticed a particular something in the fire..._

_A picture...of him...and his parents...and his bro-- that man..._

_He ran towards the fire and stuck his hand inside. For what reason, he did not know. His body simply moved on its own while his mind yelled at him to stop. After Sasuke pulled out the picture, with his hand slightly burned, he stared at it. His eyes narrowed as he walked out of the house with the picture in hand, not even looking back at the place as it began to burn down._

**X-X-X**

"Huh. Who knew Grandfather was such a cute kid. I wonder what he was like...?" Hanzo mused as he placed the picture down beside him. He started to go through the box again, and pulled out a copy of Icha Icha Paradise. "...What the _hell_? Is the old man a pervert?"

**X-X-X**

_"Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said cheerfully as she handed the Uchiha a rectangular package wrapped in light blue paper tied with a red bow. The two genin were currently waiting on the bridge—Team 7's bridge for their teammate and teacher._

_Sasuke simply arched an eyebrow as he looked at the present. ". . ."_

_"Today is your birthday, isn't it?" Trust one of his most obsessed fan girls to remember a thing such as his birthday. "I just wanna wish you happy birthday, is all." The pink-haired girl said with a slight blush on her cheeks._

_The dark-haired boy looked at his teammate and then the package. "...Thanks." He took the box from her, being very careful not to touch her hands. Unknown to him, his teammate's inner self was shouting for joy._

_"It's a journal."_ _Said Sakura. "For you to, you know, put your thoughts into."_

_"Hn."_

_"SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAN!" And there came the sound of the local Dead Last--AKA: Uzumaki Naruto. The blonde skidded to a halt in front of his two teammates. He seemed to be holding something behind his back._

_'He couldn't have gotten something for me...'_

_"Hey, Sasuke! Happy birthday!" Naruto held out a package of instant cup ramen. Sakura sweatdropped while Sasuke stared at the blonde dope._

_"You're kidding..."_

_"Naruto, don't tell me you couldn't afford anything other than a cup of ramen?" The pink-haired kunoichi said with a sigh._

_"Who's kidding? Ramen is the best gift in the world, dattebayo! It's so warm and delicious and it fills you up so quickly!"_

_"It's a lame present." Sasuke told the orange-clad boy, plain and simple. 'Though, that's oddly nice of him, considering how much he hates me and how much he loves ramen.'_ _Before the raven-haired boy could say anything else, the blonde shoved it into his arms._

_"C'mon! Take it! You should be glad I decided to give you a gift **anyway**, you bastard!"_

_"I didn't **ask** you to give me a present, moron."_

_"THAT'S IT! I'M GONNA--" But before Naruto could so much as throw a punch, Sakura smacked him in the back of his head._

_"DON'T TALK TO SASUKE-KUN LIKE THAT! Today's his birthday! Argue tomorrow."_

_The blonde casted Sasuke a glare, while the Uchiha simply smirked. In a poof of smoke, Kakashi appeared in front of Team 7._

_"Good morning, guys."_

_Sakura and Naruto's eyes were widened to the size of plates. Sasuke simply stared at the silver-haired jonin. Kakashi's visible eye blinked._

_"What?"_

_"You're...you're..." Sakura and Naruto stuttered. "YOU'RE EARLY!"_

_"Yes, well, can't I be early on one of my students' birthday?" The Copy Ninja questioned._

_"But still...we expected you to be here in another hour or two..." The pink-haired girl said. Naruto was still staring at him, dumbfounded. It was a freaking miracle!_

_"Well, anyway... Happy birthday, Sasuke!" Kakashi handed Sasuke a rectangular-shaped item that was wrapped in green paper that had little dogs on it. "Go on. Open it."_

_The raven-haired boy unwrapped the object and stared in shock at what was in his hands. He paled a bit, Sakura looked like she was going to faint, and Naruto's eyes were the size of saucers. Kakashi's single eye smiled._

_"Well?"_

_"...You're sick." Sasuke muttered. "You're a sick, demented freak."_

_"KAKASHI-SENSEI! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? What were you THINKING?" The female of the squad shouted as a vein appeared on her head._

_"...Why the **hell** would Kakashi-sensei give Sasuke a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, dattebayo?"_

**X-X-X**

Aside from the erotic novel--which he skimmed through and found himself feeling sick--Hanzo found a journal that had _absolutely nothing_ written in it and a cup of expired instant ramen. The young Uchiha placed them aside, in the same spot as the picture.

"What else is in here, I wonder?" He pulled out a what looked like a black spandex suit with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back. "Talk about a fashion disaster. Blech." He tossed that aside, making it land on the bed. He then pulled out an old report card. The ink was faded and somewhat difficult to read, but one thing was clear:

"Grandfather got high marks in all his classes." He arched an eyebrow. "Should've expected _that_." Hanzo then pulled put a Konoha hitai-ate--though this one seemed very worn out. He ran his fingers across the metal part of the headband and felt a dent. Upon further inspection, he found that there was an area of the headband that was filled in. "Hm..."

**X-X-X**

_As it rained in the Valley of the End, Sasuke stood over his old teammate as he clutched his chest. The moron actually hurt him...and he actually managed to lay a finger on his forehead. More than a finger, actually. Who knew **Naruto**, of all people, could give him a run for his money?_

_This was the reason for his leaving Konoha. If this dead last moron could beat him, he truly **was** weak. That was why he had to break all bonds with the great tree known as Konoha and go to Orochimaru, to become part of Oto._

_He stared at his fallen hitai-ate as he was being soaked by the rain. Then he looked at the orange-clad ninja. His teammate. His** best friend**. But when he walked away, those bonds broke. He no longer cared for Konoha or anyone from it..._

**X-X-X**

". . ." Hanzo stared at the hitai-ate for some time before putting it down. "I wonder...if Grandfather is going to notice this stuff's missing?" He suddenly started to shake his head. "What the hell? I shouldn't be talking like this! He won't notice if things aren't...the way they should be." _'Right?'_ He mentally asked himself before looking through the box again.

"Hmm... There's gotta be something interesting in--huh?" The raven-haired boy pulled out a long object. A sword. ...Wait a minute--A SWORD? "Why would he put something like _this_ where a child could easily pull it out and play with it? I know the man is old, but I didn't think he was going _senile_." He drew the sword out of the scabbard and looked at the blade.

If one had smelt it, they'd smell the dried blood of a few unfortunate souls. Hanzo's uncle Naota once told him that his grandfather was deadly with this sword in his younger days. And it only broke once...

**X-X-X**

_Sasuke had the worst headache in the world. Actually, it wasn't just his **head** that hurt. Every part of his body felt like it got pummeled. He was lying facedown on the ground, but he was still awake._

_'Damn Naruto... Damn him to hell!'_ _The Uchiha cursed in his mind. About a week or two ago, the dope managed to bring him back to Goddamned Konoha. This was, of course, after Sasuke's killing of Kakashi with a Chidori-powered Kusanagi sword, shocking Sakura into temporary paralysis, and trying to kill that damned blonde during their **second** meeting since Team Kakashi came to Kusa no Kuni._

_After that, the fox boy carried him back to Konoha, where he was put in a small little cell, in a strait jacket, with some sort of chakra seal on him that prevented him from using **any jutsu**, until the day that the ANBU came and said he was on parole, and that they were to make sure he didn't run away._

_Why the HELL would these people want him to live after what he'd done? It was probably Naruto and Sakura--they probably pleaded the Godaime to let him live and make amends for his wrongs. Like **that** would ever happen. Or maybe, they wanted him as a weapon. It would be a shame if they lost one of the two remaining Uchiha and the Sharingan bloodline._

_And so, it happened. The ANBU kept constant watch on him. When they weren't there, Naruto--Hokage in training--, and Sakura--who seemed to have gotten much friendlier and closer to the blonde-- came to visit him. It didn't matter how many times they talked to him, for Sasuke would ignore them and stare out into space. Even when Naruto--and one time, Sakura--shouted and cursed at him, he could never forgive them for taking away the one thing that would help him kill his brother._

_But now, on today, when it turned out Orochimaru still lived and the Sound had attacked the village to regain the so-called "Otokage's" future body, he had...mixed feelings, for some odd reason. Or maybe that was just an effect of the stinging pain of the cursed seal on his neck. Either way, he was glad that he managed to escape the ANBU, regain his precious sword, and made his way to the battlefield._

_Unfortunately, by the time he got there, it was too late. He saw a Kyuubi-empowered Naruto stretch a chakra arm through the snake Sannin's chest. And that **seriously** pissed him off._

_Most of the fight was a blur to Sasuke. He did remember his sword had been broken into two pieces. He would have to have it fixed...after he regained feeling in his body, that is. He was in a state where you're so tired you can't even open your eyelids even though you're still awake._

_"Naruto..."_

_He could still hear though._

_"Sa...Sakura-chan..."_

_What the hell? He thought Naruto was supposed to be **dead**! Sasuke struck him in the chest with his Raikiri--he was sure the idiot was dead!_

_"Naruto! You're alive!" He heard Sakura say with happiness. "D-don't worry! I'll heal you and Sasuke, and then--"_

_"Heh... I...don't think I'll make it...So tired..."_

_'Hmph! I knew it.' Thought Sasuke. If he could've done it, he would've smirked as well. 'I knew he wouldn't survive. Still wonder how he can talk though...'_

_"DON'T BE STUPID! Of course you'll make it! And then we'll be together--you, me, and Sasuke!" His old female teammate cried. How could she even think about him? Sasuke was the one who wounded him. He may not have been in this condition had it not been for him..._

_"Sakura-chan... Where's...Sasuke?" He heard the Uzumaki choke out._

_"He's unconscious and injured badly. But I'll get to him after... ...Why is it working?"_

_"Sakura... Can you promise me something?"_

_She sniffled. "Wh-what? Though you can do whatever it is you have to do when you get better."_

_Sasuke gave a mental snort. 'Yeah, right. Sakura probably knows as well as Naruto and I that he won't make it.'_

_"Promise me...you'll take care of...that bastard... Even though...he might not deserve you...make him happy... Please..." Naruto's breath became slightly labored. He could hear the jinchuriki cough. "...Thanks..."_

_'...No...way...' There was absolutely no way they could do this! Who did that blonde fool think he was? He didn't want Sakura around him 24/7! He didn't want her near him! If she wanted to make him happy, she should just kill him now! His best chance of avenging his clan died along with Orochimaru._

_"You can't go yet, Naruto!" He heard the pink-haired girl cry. "I never even got to tell you...that I...think I...love you!"_

_It was those words that made Sasuke a tiny bit upset. A small...microscopic bit. He couldn't believe it. When they were genins, the annoying girl hated Naruto and swooned over the Uchiha. Now, when he's gone for over two years, she says she loves him... He didn't really care, actually. It just sort of...hurt. A little. Only a little..._

**X-X-X**

"Heh-heh..." Hanzo swung the blade around a bit, getting a nice feel. "I wonder if Grandfather would mind if I asked him for this. It's not like he's using it." He resheathed the sword and placed it aside. Staring at it for quite some time before going back to dig in the box.

The young chunin pulled out a piece of paper and started to stare at it curiously. "A piece of paper? ...Oh, it's a marriage license." He stated as he recognized both his grandparents' signatures on the sheet.

**X-X-X**

_It all started when he said: "Sakura. Marry me." It had been ten years after Naruto had died and Sasuke was allowed to become a shinobi of the Leaf again. And why was Sasuke given another chance? Because of Sakura. The kunoichi with cherry blossom pink hair lied to Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage. She claimed that Naruto had **asked** Sasuke to kill him as he had no control. Such a lie..._

_The odd thing, though, was Sakura's reaction to the proposal. She didn't say "Yes!" right away. Instead, the medical nin began to stare at him--the jonin who had returned from a mission seriously injured till she took care of him--then down at the ground. After a few moments she nodded and said: "Yes". Then she started to hug him and he allowed it._

_Their wedding--which surprisingly took place only a few days **after** Sasuke got out of the hospital--was private. The only ones there were Sasuke, Sakura, and Tsunade--who had to be there to make the marriage official. Although, during most of the speech, the Hokage kept throwing Sasuke looks that said: "If you **dare** hurt Sakura in **any** way, I'll reconsider your execution." The kiss after they signed their names on the marriage form wasn't exactly passionate, either. He just gave her a quick peck on the lips and whisked her away to the Uchiha mansion._

_Their **"honeymoon"**--if you could even **call it** a honeymoon--was just like the kiss: non-passionate. In fact, they didn't do anything. The newlyweds slept on opposite sides of the bed that night, though while she was sleeping, Sakura kept tossing and turning in her sleep. Sasuke, who was still awake, noticed that she also kept whispering something._

_"Naruto... Stop fighting with Sasuke..."_

_His onyx colored eyes widened a bit. She was dreaming about Naruto and Sasuke..._

_"Kakashi-sensei...stop reading that perverted book and stop them... What do you mean it'll end in a while?" The pink-haired Uchiha bride murmured. "...Sasuke-kun, don't you think you went a little to far? Naruto-kun's bleeding now..."_

_'Wait a minute,' Thought Sasuke. 'When did she add '-kun' to the end of his name?' Not that he actually **cared** but still...she never added a '-kun' to Naruto's name, even when he was dragged back to Konoha._

_"Do you want to...go out somewhere together, Sasuke-kun? I know this... Oh, okay... Hm? You want to take me to Ichiraku's, Naruto-kun? ...Okay...but you'll have to pay... We should ask Sasuke-kun to come...it's only fair..."_

_Sasuke didn't know what his wife said after that because he fell asleep a while afterwards. But, he did know one thing: she missed the old Team Kakashi. She still missed their lazy and always late sensei and their stupid blonde teammate. The ones that **he** killed. Even though he had married her only to revive the clan, he felt angry that she still cared about a boy who was dead and never coming back..._

**X-X-X**

Hanzo placed the paper aside and began to pull out other things. Another picture caught his eye. This one seemed to be a family photo. His grandfather and grandmother, his father and all his uncles and aunts. Or, at least, he thought it was, but the picture was too blurry. He could make out the two pink blurs as his aunt Hikari and his grandmother, but that was it.

The young Uchiha sweatdropped. "What a horrible picture..."

**X-X-X**

_"It looks like crap." Said Zen, the youngest of the Uchiha children. He was 8 years old, with shoulder-length raven-colored hair and green eyes that were a darker shade than his mother's. Zen was quickly hit on the head by his father. "Hey!"_

_"Children your age don't say those words."_

_"But it's the truth..." Said Naota, the eldest child being 18 years old. He had spiky black hair with bangs that covered his left onyx colored eye._

_"No, it doesn't!" Said Ichigo, who was 14 at the time. He had short, red-tinted black hair and eyes that were forest green. "I'm sure I put the camera correctly!"_

_"Well it sure doesn't **look** like you did." Muttered Zen as he held up the photo to his elder brother's face. He then handed it to his sister Hikari, who was 10 years old and had cherry-blossom pink hair and bright green eyes like their mother._

_"...It looks awful. I can't tell you apart from Zen, Ichigo."_

_Ichigo's jaw dropped. "...How **dare** you compare me to this...this...**midget!**"_

_"I am **not** a midget. You're taller just because you're older!" The youngest Uchiha muttered._

_Hikari then handed it to her sister Mai, who was the middle child of the family. Mai was 13 years old and had raven-colored hair that went a few inches past her shoulders and onyx colored eyes. "I know... This is a **horrible** birthday present for Mom!"_

_"I knew we should've just gotten her roses and a box of chocolates..." Ichigo muttered to Naota._

_"Way ahead of you." Said Sasuke, who was suddenly holding a heart-shaped box and a bouquet made up of a dozen white roses._

_His children's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "...Where did you get that, Daddy?" Hikari asked as she tilted her head to the side._

_"I bought these yesterday."_

_"EH? So why the Hell would you suggest giving her a family photo for her birthday?" Ichigo shouted before Naota placed a hand over his mouth._

_"Remember who you're talking to?" His brother whispered in his ear._

_"Because she likes this sort of thing." Sasuke placed the chocolates and the roses on the chair. He walked over to Mai and took the photo way from her. "This is the sort of stuff she'll be looking at when you're all grown up and have moved out."_

_Zen tugged on his father's pants leg. "...What, you won't miss us, too?"_

_The man stared at his son for a while and said, "No. Because there'll be peace and quiet with you lot gone."_

_"Oh, come on! Not one bit?" Mai asked as she made puppy dog eyes at her father._

_Hikari imitated her sister and started doing the same thing. "Yeah, Daddy? Won't you miss us?"_

_Zen contributed to this by hugging his father's leg and saying, "I wuv you, Daddy." Of course, this only got him knocked on the head. "OW!"_

_"Now I **know **you don't act like that, so stop it."_

_"That's not a very fatherly thing, you know..."_

**X-X-X**

"Huh... I wonder what else is in here? Maybe some embarrassing photos of uncle Ichigo...?" Hanzo started to laugh to himself. It was official. Nataro and Kazemaru were finally starting to rub off on him. The young Uchiha was so busy scrounging through the box that he didn't notice the chakra that was approaching.

The door opened. "Hanzo."

The teenage chunin flinched at his name and turned his head around slowly to see, "Grandfather! You're awake!"

Sasuke stared at the things that were lying about the room. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Hanzo. "What were you doing?"

"Just looking through..._stuff_." The younger Uchiha muttered as he tossed one of his aunt Mai's old report cards back into the box. "...Can I have the--?"

"No." His grandfather interrupted. Hanzo frowned.

"I never even told you what I--"

"I don't know what you want and I don't _care_. Just put everything back in the box and bring it back to where you found it."

"But--" Before the chunin could finish his sentence, his grandfather's eyes flashed red as if to say that he _would_ try to hurt his own family. "Hmph. ...Doddering old fool..." He suddenly felt something hard him in the back of his head. "OW! THE HELLL, GRANDFATHER?"

"I _heard_ that." Sasuke said with his cane still raised in the air. "I may be a _'doddering old fool'_, but I can _still _hear just fine."

Hanzo frowned as he began to put the contents of the box back within. The retired shinobi bent down slowly and picked up the picture of his parents, his brother, and himself when he was a child. ". . ."

"Hey, Grandfather... Why are you keeping all this stuff anyway? I thought you said you weren't the type of man who lived in the past."

Sasuke frowned as he stood up. "I'm not..." He flung the picture over to Hanzo, who caught it with one hand and placed it back in the box. "It's just nice to look back at it every once in a while."

"Oh, really?" Hanzo held up the black spandex suit and smirked. "So you actually wanted to _keep_ this monstrosity to fashion?" Another blow from his grandfather's cane came, causing the teen to clutch the large bump on his head. He let go of the spandex outfit as Sasuke grabbed it from him.

"This is one thing I _want_ to forget about..."

**The End**

**X-X-X**

**Notes:**

**1) Hanzo, Nataro, and Kazemaru are three of the main characters of Naruto X (My fanfic). This story takes place a year or two in the future.**

**2) The black spandex suit is the one Sasuke wore when he fought Gaara in the third Chuunin Exam. I just love poking fun at that!**

**3) Most events that aren't explained very good _here_ can be explained in the somewhat prequel "1000 Paper Birds".**

**X-X-X**

**Blu: Yay! I'm finished! Don't come asking me if there'll be a Part 2 to Naruto X! I really don't know-- Oh, wait. Yes there is. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think! Ja ne!**


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